When the Sony Xperia 1 II launched earlier this year, I was hyped. It was a flagship phone, with the camera spec sheet I wanted, the 3.5mm headphone port made a return (after being missing on 2019’s Sony Xperia 1), & had the unique 21:9 aspect ratio that set Sony apart from its competitors.
The only downside to the Xperia 1 II was its size: a 4K OLED screen at 6.5″ tall.
Enter the Sony Xperia 5 II – the sequel to 2019’s Sony Xperia 5, and the smaller sibling to 2020’s Sony Xperia 1 II.
What sets it apart from the Xperia 10 II and Xperia L4? Unlike the 10 II and L4, the Xperia 5 II carries over most of the Xperia 1 II’s flagship features, including the cameras, and the acclaimed Photo Pro & Cinema Pro apps – two apps I’d love to use daily.
It scales the screen down to a 6.1″ 1080p OLED screen, and doesn’t have wireless Qi charging, but it’s pretty much the Xperia 1 II in a smaller form factor.
Considering it’s specs, it looks like it might be the perfect phone for me, and a real contender to be my next phone.
Question is, is it better than both the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5? In this first blog, I’ll focus mainly on what features about this phone appeals most to me, and then in my 2nd Xperia 5 II blog, I’ll delve a little deeper into the camera’s.
Xperia 5 II: 120Hz Screen
The Sony Xperia 5 II’s screen comes with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s not something I’m that bothered about, as I’m comfortable with the ‘standard’ 60Hz screen of my S9 Plus, and I’m fine with the Pixel 4a only coming with 60Hz.
Sure, if you’re used to 90Hz or quicker, you probably wouldn’t settle for anything slower. But as I’ve personally never experienced those faster refresh rates, it’s not something I’d miss.
That said, it’s nice that it’s there should I want it. Also, I’ve recently noticed on my S9 Plus that when I scroll through news articles, there is a bit of lag – it’s minimal and isn’t detrimental to the whole experience of using the phone, but I appreciate that the 90Hz of the Pixel 5, or even the 120Hz of the Sony Xperia 5 II, would eliminate all such lag on the Web.
Micro SD card slot
Yes, it has one. As well as the 128GB of internal storage in the base model (there is a 256GB version, but I doubt I’ll need it), I have the option of expanding my storage, and as I explained in a previous blog, this is a very, very, very… important feature to me.
Considering my S9 Plus also has 128GB internal storage with a Micro SD card slot, this means the Xperia 5 II is an ideal replacement device.
The only downside is that the Micro SD card tray doesn’t need a sim ejector tool to pry it open. It has a tab on the tray to easily insert & eject the Micro SD card.
While that may seem like an advantage to most, my HTC Desire Eye also had the same system, but after just 1 year, it broke. After just so many uses, the plastic/rubber tab broke free from the metal tray, and I was left with my Micro SD card remaining stuck inside my phone.
It was so stuck, that I had to endure a year of my phone essentially being a device with internal storage only – except, as it had a 64GB Micro SD card in its slot, its measly 14GB of internal storage became 78GB.
I couldn’t even use that Micro SD card with my Galaxy S7, and had to buy a new card – I opted for a SanDisk 128GB micro SD card, which I later inserted into my Galaxy S9 Plus on December 2018.
As a testament to how stuck it was, it wasn’t until February 2019 that I finally managed to free the 64GB micro SD card from my HTC Desire Eye – a full 2.5 years after last using that phone as my Daily Driver – using a combination of tiny flathead screwdriver and the sim ejector tool that came with my Galaxy S7. Naturally, the removal process bent that ejector tool & ruined it, but it was a necessary sacrifice to regain a micro SD card that I could then redeploy in another device.
I would hope that the tray on the Xperia 5 II is made of metal, and has a tighter, less-fragile fitting, otherwise I can see it suffering the same fate as the tray on my HTC Desire Eye.
Music: is it as good as a Walkman?
The Sony Xperia 5 II has a 3.5mm headphone port. It’s one of the only flagships available that has one in 2020, and is a feature I still use heavily.
If my WH-XB900N’s are on charge (they take 7hrs to fully charge from 0-100%), I can plug in my old MDR-XB950AP’s into the headphone port &continue listening to my media content – whether it’s music, videos or games.
To not have the 3.5mm port would mean using a dongle, especially on the Pixel 5. Thankfully, the Xperia 5 II won’t suffer from this problem, and means it fits right into my lifestyle. It means it’s on a par with my Galaxy S9 Plus.
Audio quality looks set to be good as well. The Xperia 5 II has support for Sony’s LDAC codecs, as well as Dolby Atmos – with a built-in, customisable system Equaliser. It looks fairly basic compared to the EQ on my S9 Plus, and more on a par with the EQ on my Lumia 820 & Nokia X2-00 – but, the fact that it’s there is better than nothing at all.
The 3.5mm port is backed up by 24 bit/192kHz audio, as well as a Dynamic vibration system – the former is great, as I’m used to good quality audio on phones, but the latter looks to me like it’ll be more of a gimmick than a useful feature. Especially given that it’s only there to be used with the stereo speakers – I rarely listen to music out loud, so again, it’s nice that it has something different, but I won’t necessarily get any use out of it.
For comparison, my S9 Plus has 32 bit/384kHz audio, apparently ‘Tuned by AKG’ – although, since December 2018, I’ve rarely noticed it’s benefits over the 24 bit audio of my Galaxy S7, and I’d be totally happy with downgrading to the 24 bit audio of the Sony Xperia 5 II.
It is also a Sony phone – my old Sony Ericsson W910i had the Walkman logo adorned on its buttons – so I’m fairly confident that the Xperia 5 II will deliver in areas that, to me, are still uncertain with either the Pixel 4a or Pixel 5.
SideSense
Another feature which I’m looking forward to using is SideSense. While it doesn’t seem (as yet) to be as customisable as the Edge Panel on my S9 Plus, it is very similar, and is a feature I’ve become accustomed to on my phone.
It allows quick access to your most used apps & shortcuts, and means not everything has to be on the Home Screen.
But, as I said, it remains to be seen as to whether or not Side Sense (while a convenient feature) is as customisable as Edge Panel. I hope it is…
Multi-window support
This is a feature which I use only very occasionally, but when I do use it, it’s incredibly useful. Having 2 apps open at the same time, on the same screen, really makes an Android phone feel like a portable computer.
It differs from Picture in Picture mode by assigning one app to each half of the screen – when in either portrait, or landscape view.
On my S9 Plus, it’s especially useful when sending a YouTube video to my mates – I browse for the video copy the link & can then instantly share it via a messaging app, without closing the YouTube app.
With the narrower 21:9 screen, I expect multitasking on the Xperia 5 II will be even easier. Plus, as with my S9 Plus, the ‘windows’ can be resized, so it’s not necessarily two halves, but one third and two thirds, for instance.
I think, for now, I’m going to leave this blog here. I could go on and on, but I think it’s safe to say I love the simplicity of almost-stock Android on Sony phones, but with the usual array of Sony features on top.
Plus, this isonly part 1. Look here for Part 2.
– Chris JK.
KPH tech blog 
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